News Releases
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DATE: November 9, 2007
For more information, contact Virginia Elliott, Vice President
for Programs, 620-662-8586
United Methodist Health Ministry Fund announces over $862,000 in new grants
Hutchinson, KS—The United Methodist Health Ministry Fund today is pleased to announce new grants totaling over $862,000 to increase access to health care, improve oral health, and promote healthy lifestyles through better nutrition and exercise in Kansas.
Work begun with the recent Sedgwick County Summit on Health Care Access will continue through community teams to be facilitated by the Sedgwick County Health Department. A grant of $19,000 will support community teams to complete capacity and gap assessments about the health care system in Sedgwick and to implement strategies to improve access to health care for uninsured and under-insured persons living in Sedgwick County. It is anticipated that changes can occur to improve transportation options for people needing health care, to decrease inappropriate use of emergency rooms, to increase usage of after-hours clinics, to improve patient-provider information through a shared health information data process and to increase awareness of medical services available in the community.
A $50,000 grant will go to Healthy Options for Kansas Communities, an organization providing services in the Planeview neighborhood of Wichita. The grant will help a new dental clinic expand with the services of a full time dentist. The clinic provides dental services on a sliding fee scale based on income.
A $75,000 grant has been awarded to the Center for Community Support and Research of Wichita State University to support the organization’s work with Kansas non-profits. The Center for Community Support and Research, through its Compassion Kansas program, provides small grants and technical assistance to non-profit organizations. The program’s goals include improving the services and organizational strength of small faith-based and community-based organizations serving Kansans in need. The grant provides part of the required financial match for a federal grant that supports the program from the Administration of Children and Families through the Compassion Capital Fund.
Innovation Funding grants
The Health Fund's 2007 strategic plan established a new funding
opportunity designed to provide some resources for the best
ideas Kansas organizations have for impacting three important
health
issues in Kansas. The Innovation Funding program was designed
to attract applicant-initiated proposals to complement the
Health Fund's current and planned initiatives in access to
health care,
healthy lifestyles, and oral health. Its intention was to support
projects that generate action beyond the routine and aim at
specific outcomes delivering: creative and innovative approaches
to addressing
needs at the state, regional, or local levels; partnerships
to address these issues with new strategies; and new mechanisms
to put evidence-based solutions in place. The following grants
were made through the Innovation Funding program.
A grant of $50,000 will go to the Kansas Academy of Family
Physicians, Wichita. In response to expected shortages of family
physicians,
the organization will facilitate a statewide planning process
with the University of Kansas School of Medicine to develop
and implement
changes in family medicine education designed to increase the
numbers of students entering the field and establishing practices
in Kansas,
particularly in rural areas.
GraceMed Health Clinic, Wichita, has been awarded two grants to expand medical and dental services to underserved areas. A grant of $100,000 will support the development of a new school-based health clinic in northeast Wichita. A grant of $52,730 will fund the purchase of a van to transport staff and mobile equipment to locations such as long-term care facilities, churches, and schools throughout the region. The mobile program will emphasize preventive medical and dental services.
Wichita State University (WSU) will receive $26,800 to develop and evaluate an oral health curriculum for Physician Assistant students. Faculty from both the Dental Hygiene and Physician Assistant departments will be involved in the new curriculum development. The WSU College of Health Professions graduates 42 physician assistants each year. These health professionals are often the first to see a patient, according to Physician Assistant department chairperson Richard Muma, and are in a position to provide oral health education and notice signs of oral disease. Oral health education, however, is usually a minimal part of the medical provider’s education, said Denise Maseman, chairperson of the Dental Hygiene department and the director of the oral health curriculum project. “We believe this project will help physician assistants be more knowledgeable and comfortable with oral health in their practices and that will benefit patients of all ages.”
A grant of $49,980 to Communities in Schools of Wichita/Sedgwick County (CIS) will support taking a coordinated, comprehensive health promotion program to area middle schools. The project will be piloted in Valley Center and Derby schools during the three years of the grant. The program, developed originally in Wichita elementary schools, is called Making Great Strides and encourages healthy eating and physical activity. Health education, special family events, and media literacy will be emphasized. In addition to helping students practice healthier lifestyles, the project aims at creating a culture of health in schools. Mary Galvin, CIS Executive Director, said the project is an extension of the role of the organization over the past sixteen years in connecting the resources of the community to the needs of children. “We believe a basic need in our schools is giving children a healthy start for a healthy future. Right now our children are mirroring the same behaviors we see in the larger society—poor food choices and too little physical activity. Unfortunately, the consequences of an unhealthy lifestyle are also being mirrored in our young children – increasing rates of obesity, high blood pressure, and diabetes. Making Great Strides is about supporting children to make healthier choices and creating an environment in which those choices are easier to make.”
With a grant of $43,035, Kansas Nutrition Network, a Wichita-based organization that is part of Kansas State University, plans to launch a statewide information campaign to encourage low-fat dairy products for children. Kansas Nutrition Network coordinator Karen Fitzgerald said the campaign emphasizes the importance of switching to lowfat or fat-free milk and lowfat dairy products such as cheese and yogurt once a child reaches the age of two. “This is an easy way to enjoy the nutritional advantages of dairy products while lowering the amount of fat in the diet, but we don’t believe that message is getting to caregivers for young children.” The Moove to Lowfat Dairy campaign will provide promotional materials and supplies to agencies in Kansas providing services to families with young children. Fitzgerald said the agencies partnering with Kansas Nutrition Network do a good job of helping families understand how to make healthier food choices for young children.
A $50,000 grant will help support a two-year planning process to develop strategies to increase the number of skilled nurses in rural Kansas communities. The Kansas Hospital Education and Research Foundation, Topeka, will receive the grant to facilitate the Kansas Nurse Attrition and Clinical Collaborative (KNAC Collaborative). Eleven other organizations have committed to participate in the project and more are expected to join as workgroups are formed around promising strategies for Kansas. The project director, Cara Greve, said there is already a shortage of Registered Nurses in Kansas and rural areas find it particularly difficult to recruit adequate numbers of health care providers. “An efficient nurse pipeline is essential to assuring adequate numbers for Kansas’ future. We’ll be looking at ways we can graduate more of the 500 or so students who start but don’t complete nursing education programs in Kansas each year.” Greve said the KNAC Collaborative will address attrition at all stages of the nursing continuum from education through early employment and also work to expand and enhance clinical practicum sites.
A $50,000 grant will go to the Kansas Office of Oral Health to pilot a program designed to improve the integration of oral health services and medical services in safety net clinics. GraceMed Health Center, Wichita, and Health Ministries Clinic, Newton, have been selected to pilot the program. The Kansas Association for the Medically Underserved will provide technical assistance. Aimed primarily at young children, the program will provide oral health education, case management, and streamlined medical and dental referral for treatment needs. Dr. Katherine Weno, Director of the Office of Oral Health, said children regularly receive physical check-ups, but aren’t so likely to receive necessary oral health screenings and preventive treatment. “We hope this program will help the medical staff and dental staff work together to address the health needs of the whole child with each visit rather than treating dental and medical services as totally separate.”
The Kansas Department of Corrections has been awarded a grant of $66,500 to establish a dental lab program at the Topeka Correctional Facility. The lab will provide training and work experience for inmate workers in making dentures as well as providing dentures to order for inmates in KDOC facilities. The lab will produce more than 300 dentures for inmates each year. KDOC Deputy Secretary for Programs, Research & Support Services Roger Haden said the need for dental appliances continues to increase among the inmate population. One reason, Haden cited, is the increase in the cases of extreme tooth decay resulting from methamphetamine drug use. “This lab is a win-win. It promotes improved oral health through providing dentures fabricated in-house and gives inmates trained in making the dentures marketable skills for the workforce upon release.”
The Foundation for the Aging and Care of Elders of Kansas (FACE of Kansas), Topeka, has been awarded a grant of $50,000. The grant will be used to develop and implement oral health training for staff members of long-term care facilities throughout the state. The training will be focused on the daily oral care maintenance needs of frail elderly residents. The program is expected to be started in thirty facilities within the next two years.
A grant of $50,000 has been awarded to the Child Nutrition and Wellness section of the Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE) to help expand a program designed to improve the health and school performance of students in Kansas elementary schools. Eat, Exercise, Excel, developed four years ago at Anthony Elementary School in Leavenworth, adds physical activity time to the school day and improves meal time procedures to enhance nutrition. Jodi Mackey, KSDE’s director of Child Nutrition & Wellness, said the program transformed not only student health at Anthony Elementary, but also student achievement and behavior. She expects similar results in schools that fully implement all components of the program. The grant will support technical assistance for implementation in six Kansas schools over the next three years.
K-State Research and Extension was awarded a grant of $18,000 to promote physical activity and healthy food choices to Spanish-speaking residents of Southwestern Kansas. The grant will support production of six short “soap opera” style television spots that will be aired on Spanish language television and radio in Garden City. The “telenovelas” will be produced locally using local actors. Karen Hudson, Coordinator for the Family Nutrition Program, hopes this new approach will help the messages gain acceptance. “Hispanics in this region are developing chronic diseases such as diabetes at a higher rate than the rest of the population. Part of the problem may be dietary and lifestyle changes as immigrants adjust to life in America. We are noticing a lot more processed foods and fewer fresh fruits and vegetables.” She added that the project developed in response to interest from Spanish speaking families in learning how to provide healthful, inexpensive meals and integrate physical activity into everyday life.
A planning grant of $12,700 was awarded to the Spirituality Resource Center, Salina. The organization is involved in developing a new concept to promote health and improve access to health care through the use of “complementary currency.” Complementary currency, according to organizers, provides a way of earning and trading goods and services outside of using money. Bernard Lietaer, the technical developer of the Euro currency and internationally recognized for his work on money and complementary currency, is consulting on the project.
A coalition of three Pittsburg area agencies will use a grant of $41,000 over the coming year to identify children in a three-county region needing assistance enrolling for health insurance coverage and connecting to health care services. The Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas will receive the grant and coordinate the project with the Family Resource Center and Mt. Carmel Congregational Health. At least 1,000 children through the age of five and their families are expected to benefit from the program, which will help children obtain health insurance coverage and let families know where to find health care. The program also will develop and provide free of charge file folders and directions for maintaining documentation needed to qualify for government programs and assistance. Community Health Center CEO Krista Postai said the number of uninsured children in Kansas continues to increase and there is little happening to reverse the trend. “We’re seeing a big increase in the number of children who are uninsured coming to our clinic. Ironically, most of them are eligible for Medicaid, but for a variety of reasons are just not enrolled. Without insurance, parents are hesitant to seek routine medical and dental care for their children because of worries about cost. This program is going to help make sure children have access to health care and that families know where to find affordable health care.” The Community Health Center provides medical, dental, and mental health care on a sliding fee scale based on income. It serves approximately 10,000 patients each year.
The Rooks County Health Department will receive a grant of $7,420 to improve the oral health of young children and families. The grant will provide materials and training for Tiny Teeth Healthy Habits, a program developed in Cowley County and offered through Legacy, A Community Foundation. The program aims to help health care and social service agencies integrate oral health education into existing services. Good oral hygiene and proper oral care for young children will be emphasized. Lorraine Baughman, administrator of the Rooks County Health Department, said her agency sees entirely too many young children with dental problems. “A healthy mouth is very important to health overall,” she explained. “It is too late to wait until these kids get into school; we need to help families understand the importance of everyday habits to take care of teeth so these problems can be avoided later.”
Providing the Best Start for Baby is the goal of a professionally-guided peer lactation counselor program being started by United Methodist Western Kansas Mexican-American Ministries (MAM), Garden City, with a grant from the United Methodist Health Ministry Fund. A $50,000 grant will support salaries, training, evaluation, and other expenses of a program aimed at helping new mothers choose to breastfeed their infants for at least six months. Breastfeeding has been shown to improve health outcomes for mothers and their children, according to Jane Schlicklau, professor of nursing at Southwestern College, Winfield, who will be a consultant with the project. The program is expected to serve 250 to 300 women. Those who enroll will receive prenatal counseling, a hospital visit after giving birth, home visitation and telephone support.
Based in Hutchinson, the mission of the United Methodist Health Ministry Fund is “Healthy Kansans through cooperative and strategic philanthropy guided by Christian principles.” Its funding comes from an endowment established in 1986 by the Kansas West Conference of the United Methodist Church from a portion of the proceeds from the sale of Wesley Hospital in Wichita. Since the Health Fund’s founding, grants totaling more than $47 million have supported hundreds of health-related projects in Kansas.
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